Emilie Sydney-Smith Profile Picture

Keynote SpeakerEmilie Sydney-Smith

Former Chief Transformation Officer of Aboitiz and former CEO of ExO Works

Emilie is CEO of corporate transformation consultancy, E5S. She was previously the Chief Transformation Officer for Aboitiz, the Philippines’ second largest conglomerate. She created new business lines with nation-building scale and doubled or tripled the usual profit potential. She also created programs to transform the existing companies and culture through... Read more

Biography

Emilie is CEO of corporate transformation consultancy, E5S.

She was previously the Chief Transformation Officer for Aboitiz, the Philippines’ second largest conglomerate. She created new business lines with nation-building scale and doubled or tripled the usual profit potential. She also created programs to transform the existing companies and culture through bureaucracy busting, training hundreds of staff to succeed like they were in Big Tech and simulating how to sustain operations well during looming crises.

Before that, Emilie was CEO of ExO Works, a corporate transformation consultancy which helped large organizations like Visa, HP, BHP, Siemens Energy, Vodacom, Rio Tinto, Santos, Boston Scientific and Procter & Gamble to emulate the world’s fastest growing companies, enabling exponential growth for these companies. Their clients averaged 70X return on investment from these projects and tripled retention of the talent involved.

From 2006 to 2014, Emilie sourced a range of $20 – 400 million private equity investments in energy production start-ups and technologies around the world. This meant reviewing around 100 potential investments per annum and seeing the patterns for success or failure. From 2002 to 2005, Emilie managed corporate development and corporate relations for Sydney Gas Limited. She helped grow the startup to a $300 million valuation and was instrumental in raising the company’s poor reputation to a media-recognized “market leader.”

From 1999 to 2002, Emilie worked on the sweeping deregulation of the energy and water markets in Australia and New Zealand, facilitating complex negotiations between senior executives, regulators and Government Ministers.

"It's the best presentation I can remember (in any forum)"
"We won’t find anybody more inspirational to motivate us."
"Emilie was wonderfully inspiring, especially in a time when many are feeling disconnected and uncertain. It’s was fantastic to hear about the potential."
"Wow – that is mind boggling. Can I book a slot for my team?"
“The best presentation to investors I have seen in 10 years”
“Emilie reads a tech book per week and it really shows”
"Loved all of it Emilie, you’re a pro, thank you! The personal touch in the deck – excellent! Not easy to keep a digital audience engaged, and you’re a master."
"That content was so important, you should be presenting to the UN General Assembly."
"You mesmerised the audience (as expected). Some colleagues are texting me liking very much your presentation".
"The whole project and the meeting today are opening my eyes. I see how limited we used to be in our daily work with all these “processes for processes” and approvals and restrictions etc. How did I forget that I wanted to change the world? This opportunity is exactly what I was looking for to find the direction! I don’t know what would be the result of the sprint, but for sure you are changing my life."

Popular Talks by Emilie Sydney-Smith

  • Unlocking Growth: Strategies for Thriving in Disruption
  • Cultivating Excellence: Building a High-Performance Team Culture for Talent Retention
  • Strategic Survival: Thriving in a World of War, Cyberwar, and Social Mayhem
  • Data Revolution: Leveraging Generative AI for Supercharged Innovation
  • Harmony in Tech: Bridging the Gap Between Executives, IT, and Cyber Security
  • Ticking Time Bomb: Navigating the Global Debt Crisis